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Talk:Dark Dragon, Phantom Blaster "Diablo"/@comment-24699797-20150227015301
While people are having fun speculating what Phantom Blaster "Diablo"'s skill will be, it makes me feel like joining in. So what criteria am I going to play by? *Since this is a preconstructed deck containing no other types of G unit, it is unlikely the card will have the "If the number of face up cards in your G Zone is two or more" clause. Instead it is far more likely it will contain a restriction similar to Mithril Ezel's requirement for an "Ezel" Vanguard, making it for the exclusive use of Blaster Dark "Diablo" or perhaps either "Blaster" or " "Diablo" " vanguards. *The original Phantom Blaster Overlord's status as a Persona Blaster makes it highly likely that this card will be a G Persona Blaster. The existance of Grim Recruiter as an archetype-less, costless, on-hit G unit, and its inclusion in the deck's Starter Set equivalent as a promo card is also a possible indication of this. *As a throwback to legacy cards, this card will likely retain Phantom Blaster Dragon's iconic CB2 & retire 3 rear-guards cost. *As a throwback to legacy cards, this card will likely gain Critical+1, though this alone would be vastly underwhelming for the speculated associated cost. *Phantom Blaster "Abyss"'s existance makes it possible that this card might be a restanding vanguard. My first impressions would approximately be: Version #1 ACT(VC)[1/Turn]:Blast (2) & Choose a face down card named "Dark Dragon, Phantom Blaster "Diablo"" from your G zone, and turn it face up If you have a card in your hearts with "Blaster Dark" in its card name, until end of turn, this unit gets drive-1, Critical+1 and "AUTO(VC):three of your «[http://cardfight.wikia.com/wiki/Shadow_Paladin Shadow Paladin» rear-guards, and retire them] At the end of the battle that this unit attacked a vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, Stand this unit. This ability cannot be used for the rest of that turn. (Even if you do not pay the cost, this ability cannot be used for the rest of that turn.)" Card Advantage Check: *Normal draw: +1 *Stride cost: -1 *Twin Drive!!: +2 *Retiring: -3 *Additional 3-stage attack: soft +3 *Twin Drive!!: +2 +? Total: +1 -1 +2 -3 +2 = hard gross +1 or hard net -2, plus soft +3 for additional attack, plus soft +? for additional drive check There are also more soft minuses and plusses through the Counterblast and Critical. Though roughly balanced mathematically, this might be too aggressive far too early in the game, though perhaps fitting of Phantom Blaster. It might be more appropriate for the Critical+1 to be moved to the AUTO skill, though the introduction of such binary counterplay to the skill ("Easy no guard, then if you have a PG, great! If not, oh dear!") might make the high cost difficult to justify. The cause of the issue is the ability to restand, which is thematically the least appropriate component, as this card is a reference to Phantom Blaster Dragon/Overlord from the main timeline, before his defeat at the end of the Civil War. A variant without restanding would be more appropriate, but a plain Critical gaining Vanguard cannot justify the high cost, like so: Version #0-WIP AUTO(VC):Blast (2) & Choose three of your «[http://cardfight.wikia.com/wiki/Shadow_Paladin Shadow Paladin» rear-guards, and retire them & Choose a face down card named "Dark Dragon, Phantom Blaster "Diablo"" from your G zone, and turn it face up] When this unit attacks the vanguard, if you have a card in your hearts with "Blaster Dark" in its card name, you may pay the cost. If you do, until end of turn, this unit gets Critical+1. Card Advantage Check: *Normal draw: +1 *Stride cost: -1 *Retiring: -3 *Triple Drive!!: +3 Total: +1 -1 -3 +3 = gross +-0 or net -3 As such, some kind of additional effect is necessary. To pay for the CB2 & retire 3 rear-guards, a particularly powerful effect or combination of effects would be necessary to push the card towards breaking even. Examples might be an increase in Power, coupled with a guard prevention skill like Glory Maelstrom's or Silent Tom's; or the ability to nullify the opponent's trigger effects, the same way Nouvelle Vague does. While the former fits well with the legacy reference, the latter might also be appropriate due to the ability's association with PSY Qualia in the manga, though through Nouvelle Vague herself. Another possibility would be a return (or lore-wise, skip forward) to Dragruler Phantom, dealing direct damage to the opponent, though this would also require additional effects to justify the cost compared to Dragruler's CB1 & retire 2 rear-guards cost, such as Vortex Dragonewt's trigger nullification. My most confident prediction to the contrary is the lack of a Counterblast cost, or a CB1 cost to fit in line with heavily reduced costs as the game has progressed, except possibly in the case of a restander. The Persona Blast and ally retire aspects are more iconic to Phantom Blaster, so the reduction of Counterblast cost might be one way the cost and the resultant strength of the card has been tweaked to stay in line.